Takeover talk in the mining and telecoms sectors provided a boost for London’s leading share index today.

Championship side QPR have completed the signing of winger Hogan Ephraim from West Ham for an undisclosed fee.

Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal is remaining tight-lipped regarding his emergence as a possible contender to buy Birmingham.

Lakshmi Mittal said his self-named steel giant will be years ahead of his rivals after taking over European steel maker Arcelor SA, as he unveiled plans to invest up to $9bn (€7bn) in his native India.

Mittal Steel was today said to be preparing to increase its offer for Arcelor to more than £18bn to beat off rival interest from Russia.

The FTSE 100 Index ended a torrid week in negative territory today as continued uncertainty swept through the Square Mile.

British Airways and British Gas owner Centrica experienced contrasting fortunes during another volatile session for London investors today.

British-based tycoon Lakshmi Mittal sought to extend his steel empire today with a dramatic £12.7bn (€18.5bn) move to merge the industry’s two biggest operators.

ENVIRONMENTAL engineers moved onto the site of the former Irish Steel factory on Haulbowline Island in Cobh, Co Cork, yesterday to begin the largest industrial clean-up in the history of the State.

BRITISH-BASED tycoon Lakshmi Mittal announced a dip in profits for the world’s largest steelmaker yesterday after prices softened and raw material costs rose.

AROUND 400 former workers at Irish Steel have received a pre-Christmas payout, while major creditors should get an estimated 20% of the €30 million they are owed.

THE last owners of Irish Steel, who have refused to pay the clean-up costs of their former Irish site, are set to form the world’s largest steel company in a €14 billion deal.

THE former owner of Irish Ispat in Cork, who recently bought a house in London for £106 million, should pick up the €30m tab for the clean up of the steel works site, according to the former chairman of Cork County Council.

HE didn’t give his workers a cent in redundancy payments and the Irish taxpayer will have to foot a €30 million bill to clean up his steel mill.

THE cost of decontaminating the former Irish Steel plant is estimated to be in the region of €30 million. But that could rise depending on what’s discovered during a major investigation expected to get underway this autumn.

THE life of a worker who died in a fire at the Irish Ispat steel plant last year could have been saved if bosses had paid the 15,000 needed to improve safety, a former official said last night.